Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah will lay the foundation for the second phase of the university cities' project worth SR81.5 billion ($21.73 billion) tomorrow.

He will also inaugurates the first phase of the project in a number of regions and governorates, a Saudi Press Agency report said. The king will launch new campuses of Jazan, Taif, Tabuk, Hail, Baha, Najran, Al-Jouf, Majmaa and Shaqra universities, Prince Salman University in Al-Kharj, and Northern Province University, an Arab News report quoting Higher Education Minister Khaled Al-Anqari said.

Other higher education facilities to be opened by the king are: King Abdulaziz University branch in North Jeddah, KAU branch in Rabigh, King Abdullah City for Girls at Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University, the new campus for girls at King Saud University and the girls’ colleges complex at Umm Al-Qura University, it said.

The second phase covers 16 university campuses, including 166 new colleges, 161 support service projects, 10,841 housing units and 12 university hospitals with 3,800 beds, the report said.

The new university projects will bring about an educational renaissance in the Kingdom and boost its progress and prosperity, the minister said. The number of government universities in the Kingdom jumped from 15 in 2004 to 32. During the same period the number of colleges rose from 314 to 452, teaching staff to 47,997, the report added.